Clothes-rack



(No Eodel.)

G. W. LANGPORD.

GLOTHES RACK. 7

No. 375,639. Patented Dec. 27, 1887.

l q/wvtmweo Quinn Cox UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. LANGFORD, OF EYLAR, ILLINOIS.

CLOTHES-RACK.

EPECIPICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 375,639, dated December27, 1887.

(No model.)

.To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. LANGFORD, a citizen of the United States,andaresident of Eylar, in the county of Livingston and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inClothes-Racks; and I do hereby declare that the followingis afull,clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, which form apart of this specification, and in Which- Figure 1 is a top plan view ofmy new and improved adjustable clothes-rack. Fig. 2 is a perspectiveView of the same, showing the rack lowered at one end by its cord orrope; and Fig. 3 is a detail view on one end of one ofthe cross bars orslats.

The same letters of reference indicate corre' sponding parts in all thefigures.

My invention relates to that class of clothesdriers in which the rack isadapted to be ad justed or lowered at one or both ends for conveniencein placing the wet clothes upon it, and which can then be raised ordrawn up near the ceiling of the room, where the most heat is found, andwhere the rack is also out of the way.

My improved adjustable clothesrack will be hereinafter fully describedand claimed.

Referring to the several parts by letter, A B indicate the cross-piecesor brackets, which are secured to the side walls of the room oppositeone another, and in which the hooks O G and D are secured; or thesecross-pieces or brackets may be dispensed with when desired, and thehooks screwed or secured directly in the walls, as will be readilyunderstood.

E E indicate the parallel cross pieces or slats of my improvedclothes-rack, which may be made of metal, if desired, but which arepreferably made of light pine wood, so that their weight is but little.These cross-slats are preferably three feet in length, the two end slatsof the series being preferably one inch square in cross-section, whilethe middle slats may be one inch by one half inch in cross section,these sizes giving quite sufficient strength. The said slats are slottedlongitudinally for the depth of about two inches at each of their endsat E E.

F indicates the wire which forms the outer frame of my improvedclothes-rack, this framewire being all in one piece, preferably, andbeing bent to form the end loops, G and H, and the sides of this wireframe are bent around the upper side of the ends .of the slats afterpassing through the end slots of the same, the wire being firstpassed'through the slot and then bent around the upper part of theslotted end, and then again passed through the slot, as clearly shown indetail View, Fig. 3 of the drawings, this arrangement of the wireeffectually preventing the slats from slipping under the weight of theclothes, or at any other time, holding them always parallel with oneanother, and the ends of the slats are further prevented from slippingby means of small staples I, which are driven into the upper end of eachslat, overstraddling the loop of wire on the top of the ends of theslats, as clearly shown in the said detail view, Fig. 3.

In operation the broader end loop G, which I shall call theleft-hand endof the wire frame, is hooked over the two hooks C G, and the adjustingcord or rope K is secured at one end to the middle of the other or righthand end 100p H, and then passes over the pulley L, which is hungon thesingle hook D, this sin gle hook D being directly opposite the center ofthe space between the two hooks G O, and preferably in the samehorizontal plane. Now by loosening the free end of the rope K theright-hand end of the rack-frame can be lowered, so as to permit of theclothes being easily and conveniently hung on the transverse par" allelslats E E, and after the rack has been filled by drawing down upon thefree end of the adjusting cord or rope the right-hand end of the rackcan be raised, so as to draw the rack up in a horizontal plane near theceiling of the room, where the greatest warmth always is to be found;and the rack is then secured in its raised or elevated position bysecuring the free 9 end of the rope K around any suitable hook or cleat.

If desired, an adj usting-rope can be arranged at each end of therack-frame, as will be readily understood, so that both ends of the rackcan be lowered at the same time; but this is hardly necessary, as it isamply sufficient to lower one end of the frame or rack, which brings allof the slats down within convenient reach.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, the construction, operation, and advantages of myinvention will be readily understood.

It will be seen that my improved adjustable clothes-rack is simple andstrong in construction and can be manufactured at a small cost, theoutside frame being merely a single piece of wire, (wire clothes-line ofthe ordinary construction is preferably used,) while the cross-slats areplain light wood, the' ends of which are slotted by means of a circularsaw, and the small staples are cheap, and may, indeed, be dispensedwith, if desired, as the slats are not at all likely to slip on the wireframe after the wire has been wrapped around their upper ends and passedtwice through their end slots, as described.

My improved clothes-rack is exceedingly convenient in operation, as itcan be lowered in a moment by merely loosening the free end of theadjusting cord or rope, and as soon as the rack has been filled with thewet clothes, or as many placed on it as desired, it is again raised in amoment by drawing upon the free end of the said rope, and held in itsraised position by fastening the said end of the rope around aconvenient hook or cleat. The hooks O O and D can either be secured inthe brackets A and B, which are in turn secured to the walls, or may besecured directly in the walls, dispensing with the said cross-pieces orbrackets.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is- The combination, with thestationary supporting-hooks and the pulley arranged as de scribed, ofthe adj ustable clothes rack consisting of the transverse slats formedwith the end slots, the Wire frame bent around and through the saidslotted ends, and the staples arranged as described, and the elevatingrope or cord, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereuntoaffixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE XV. LANGFORD.

